Raiders players read to West Oakland children in effort to promote literacy

These photos follow six players from the Oakland Raiders as they teamed up with the West Oakland Youth Center and First Book, a nonprofit that gives books to children in low-income neighborhoods, to bring free books to children during their “Rush to Read” event on Tuesday night. Children from the center were greeted by defensive tackle Clinton McDonald, who then introduced his teammates Johnny Townsend, Kyle Wilber, Ryan Yuracheck, Emmanuel Lamur and Frostee Rucker.

The players read Tiger in My Soup, a book by Kashmira Sheth, to the children in the form of a speed reading competition. The “winners” of the competition—which meant all the children—were able to take home two free books as well as a bag provided by First Book.

McDonald has a special interest in promoting literacy and, through his foundation, Light Into Darkness, he encourages children in grades K-12 to read at least 30 minutes every day. He calls it “Read 4:30.”

“We’re talking about putting hundreds of thousands of books in the hands of kids,” said Dan Stokes of First Book, the organization partnering with McDonald.